Either One Of Us
by xMissWhitneyBexx
Summary: Cal finally decides to tell Ethan the truth but he soon finds himself regretting it.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, here's a two-shot based on today's episode. Enjoy!**

 **Summary: Cal finally decides to tell Ethan about their biological parents on Christmas Day and he soon regrets telling him.**

* * *

Cal officially hated Christmas. Not because of the annoying tunes repeated year after year or the amount of drunk people entering the doors of the ED endlessly. It was because he had to work on Christmas Day, knowing that he or his brother had a chance of inheriting a incurable disease from their _birth mother_.

He spotted Lily yawning, Jacob flirting and Ethan working. A typical Friday. Apart from the fact that it was Christmas Day and some of them had to work instead of spend it with friends and family.

He tapped Lily on her shoulder, waking her up from her slight slumber. She blushed, clearing her throat and picking up a file of patient notes to file. He then watched the clock tick by until the end of his shift at 2 PM. That should give him enough time to run over to Tesco and buy a ready made chicken for him and Ethan to share on their Christmas evening. Probably stick some of his favourite movies and songs on, butter him up and probably ruin his life after. Yeah, sounded like a plan.

Sighing, he walked over and called for his next patient, quickly dealing with the young, flirty blonde before moving on to a male patient which he was thankful for, not that he didn't mind the flattering.

An hour has passed by. 12 PM. Two more hours to go.

Cal spotted Lily and Ethan talking privately in the corner before they shared a long hug and probably season's greetings. He watched as Ethan's eyes brightened up at the sight of a present being thrust into his hands. He dug deep into his pocket and handed a small gift box in return.

' _Merry Christmas_ ', Cal thought to himself, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as Ethan had yet to give him his own present. He decided to make himself useful again as he took over from Connie to deal with her patient as she caught a call from her daughter who had probably woken up, time difference.

When he was done, he found that his and Ethan's shifts had ended. He met his brother in the staff room, laughing along with Lily.

"Hey, Cal? Can Lily join us? Her mother's spending Christmas in China." Ethan asked, slipping his jacket on as Lily retouched her makeup.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Cal mumbled, taking his scrub shirt off. "We just have to stop by Tesco and pick up dinner."

"Okay, we'll be waiting in the car." Ethan smiled, patting his brother's back before leaving the room with Lily in tow.

Cal leaned his head against a cold locker and sighed, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and finished redressing, grabbing his bag and shutting his locker door shut and locking it.

He quickly made his way out, saying "Merry Christmas, have a nice day." to his staying colleagues and entered the car, smiling at his brother.

...

"...I swear if I hear another Christmas song, I'll ruin your lovely pink walls." Lily joked, sipping on her second glass of wine as she watched Ethan halt in his actions to change the music.

"I don't know why you're stopping, Nibbles. I would have thought that you wanted those pink walls gone." Cal joked, sipping on his third bottle of beer.

Ethan smiled, pressing 'skip' on the music player. Lily groaned, but laughed. She stood up and smoothed her dress, placing her empty glass in the kitchen sink.

"I'm going to go. Maybe call my mum. Have some more Baileys and just sleep. Thank you for the dinner, Ethan and Caleb." she said, slurring her words slightly as she stumbled to get her jacket.

Ethan grabbed her gently, steadying her. "I'll call you a cab."

"I-I need the toilet first."

Cal had waited a full half an hour until Lily had gone home safely. He watched his brother pick up his first beer and sit down, turning the TV on.

"I was thinking that we could watch Elf. Lily and Robyn say that it's good and that they've watched it nearly every Christmas. Well Robyn has actually watched it every Christmas."

"And after that?" Cal asked, sitting beside him.

Ethan shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

When the movie had finished, it was past 11 PM. It was now or never.

"Hey... Ethan?"

"Hmm?" Ethan mumbled, his eyes slowly opening.

"Sorry, were you asleep?"

"No, no. It's alright, just feeling a bit tired. I'm okay, we can watch another film."

Cal shook his head.

"No... There's something that I've been meaning to tell you. And it's really... serious."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the response! I've decided to extend this story to more than a two-shot as I believe that a lot can come out of this. Any thoughts? Again thanks and here's the next chapter! x**

* * *

"Is something wrong?" Ethan's heart sped up.

Cal opened his mouth to talk but nothing came out. He was saved when their phones rang.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he answered the call. "Yeah, he's with me. Okay, we're on our way."

Ethan cast a tired glance in his brother's way, an eyebrow raised. "Work?"

"Shortage of doctors and there are no locums. We have to go."

"But... what were you going to tell-"

Cal shook his head, already slipping his jacket on. "It can wait."

When they returned to work, Connie didn't bother waiting until they were dressed in their scrubs before giving them patients to deal with.

"I want these two done within thirty minutes, am I clear?"

"Yes, Queen Beauchamp." Cal mumbled, walking off to deal with his patient.

Ethan however watched curiously as his brother walked away, brisk in his actions. Something was eating at him and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Cal had thrown himself into his work to ignore the fact that he still had yet to tell Ethan the truth but he couldn't find the words to say it. He had only planned for when he would confess but not how to. He thanked God for the work distraction but the thought of the incurable illness lingered his mind, almost making him break down again.

When he was awarded with a break 3 hours later, he met Ethan alone in the staff room, sipping on a cup of tea.

"You look tired." Cal stated, heading over to the kettle.

"Hmm, thanks." Ethan replied sarcastically. "I worked on an hour's sleep, give me a break." he smiled.

Cal smiled back and continued to make his coffee. "I bet there's some biscuits around somewhere that we can share. We need the energy."

He sighed when he saw his brother already dozing off and decided to get back to work so that Ethan could take his break time as well to catch some missed sleep. He also mentally hit himself for not objecting to working.

Ethan found Cal twenty minutes later at the reception desk, reading a file of patient notes.

"Hey, why didn't you wake me?" he asked, leaning against the desk, trying to get a look at the notes.

Cal shrugged, closing the notes anyway. "I decided you needed time to get yourself together. So I gave you the rest of my break time."

"You shouldn't have." Ethan smiled lightly.

"Well, consider it my Christmas gift then." Cal smirked, walking off. He was stopped when Ethan called him back.

"Since it's quiet and all... we could have a chat about what you said was serious."

Cal was hoping that he had forgotten that. Taking a breath in, he turned to face Ethan and smiled. "It was nothing, seriously. Just missing Matilda, is all."

"Are you sure? Because I'm sure that Mrs Beauchamp wouldn't mind if we took another break."

Cal chuckled. "Nibbles, are you going rebellious on me?" he joked.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Well, if you're sure."

"I am, trust me." Cal assured him, turning to face Lily walking in as if she wasn't drunk at all. "Lily? Last I saw you, you were pretty out of it."

"Yeah, stumbling around our apartment. Took two of us to get you to the toilet." Ethan joked, hugging her.

Lily groaned. "Don't even get me started about that. Sorry, by the way. Connie phoned me and ordered me to get down here because apparently we're short staffed and there are no locums. Who even forgets to call locums?" she ranted, heading towards the staff room.

"Did you even get any of that?" Cal asked, chuckling along with Ethan.

"At least she's out of her 'don't talk to me' shell. I think she's made New Years resolutions to be a lot more-"

"Human?"

"Friendlier." Ethan finished, rolling his eyes with a smile. "Plus, we're even closer than ever after the Alicia business."

Cal patted his back. "Glad for you, Nibbles."

"I swear if you call me that one more time-"

"Dr. Hardy, Dr. Knight, are we working here or slacking?" Connie asked, walking past.

"Well, talk to you later." Ethan smiled, going to get his next patient.

...

Lily found Cal pacing back and forth in the staff room later that day and she watched him, folding her arms.

"You'll wear the carpet out." she said, causing him to jump.

"Oh, hey." he mumbled.

"You've been distant all day. Are you okay?" she asked, heading towards her locker.

Cal sighed, placing his hands on his hips as he looked upwards. "How do you break bad news?"

"Did one of your patients die?" Lily asked, shocked.

"No! No, nothing like that. Just...," he sighed, turning to face her. "I found out something two days ago and... it's not good news."

Lily tilted her head at him, her mouth opening but no words coming out. "Caleb... are you... sick?"

Cal sighed, closing his eyes. "I... uh, I might be. I don't know. God, it feels so... confusing right now."

"Let's have a seat before you faint on me." Lily said, sitting beside him on the couch. "Start from the beginning."

Cal went on to spill the last couple of months' events and as he did, the tears started to fall and the tissues started to be handed out. When he was finished, Lily tentatively placed a comforting hand on his back and rubbed it.

"So, there's a 50/50 chance that either you or Ethan has Huntington's?" she whispered, tears prickling her eyes. She loved Ethan, he was one of the only ones who understood her. She may have had a rocky start with Cal but they were civil and they worked together nearly everyday so there was no denying that she found him a decent person after the whole £40 bet thing since he apologised. "Neither one of you deserve that."

"Deserve what?"

They both turned to face Ethan who looked between them, curiosity on his features.

"I'll leave you two to talk-"

"No, stay." Cal pleaded with Lily. She immediately sat back down and watched as Ethan took a seat in front of them.

"Cal, you're actually starting to scare me." Ethan gulped, watching as Lily wiped her eyes.

Cal sighed, leaning in closer to his brother. He was still glad that they were brothers.

"You know when we found out that Matilda wasn't mine?"

"Yeah... what's that got to do with-"

"Just hear him out, Ethan." Lily sighed.

Ethan nodded, shutting his mouth.

"Well, I kind of got this feeling that she was so I had some tests done. DNA ones and it turned out that not only Matilda still wasn't mine, I found out that we're adopted."

Ethan laughed. "Is this a joke because it's a-a really good one, Cal."

"No. I'm not joking. And not only are we adopted, Ethan, we... either one of us may have Huntington's." Cal whispered, his voice breaking as Ethan's face fell and his mouth opened to object to what he was hearing.

"When did you find out?" he asked lowly.

"Just two days ago. I... I visited our real mum. God, Ethan... she scared me. I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to tell you-"

"How long did you know that we were adopted for?" Ethan's voice was still quiet and Lily grew concerned.

Cal shook his head. "A few weeks."

"You're lying."

"At least a month, then! Ethan, what else do you want me to say? That I'm sorry that we're adopted and that our whole lives have been a sham?"

Ethan stood up, running a hand through his head. Cal stood up too, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Ethan said, backing away from him. "You knew and you didn't tell me straight away?"

"I'm sorry-"

"And you tell Lily before me? Who else knew?"

"Charlie, but-"

"Charlie knew?! And you two have been going behind my back for a month, not telling me that we were adopted?"

Cal bit his lip. "This shouldn't change anything, you're still my little brother-"

"Don't even..." Ethan shook his head. "And this shouldn't change anything? One of us could be seriously sick and you're saying that it shouldn't change anything?!"

Lily stood up, placing a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Ethan, you should calm down. Take time to process this in."

"I don't need to, Lily. I'm _fine_. I can't believe you lied to me, Caleb."

"I didn't lie. I just kept the truth from you." Cal gently explained.

"Same thing, isn't it?"

Cal shook his head. "You know it's not. Look, when I found out I was so shocked; I wanted to tell you straight away but I couldn't find the words. God, you don't know how much this has been eating at me."

"It always has to be about you, doesn't it, Cal? We should all feel sorry for Cal who lost his daughter and found out that he might be sick."

"I care about you, Ethan and I will always care about you no matter what. And I did what I thought was best for your interests-"

"My interests? Shows how much you actually know me, considering you don't bother to actually realise that I am not as fragile as you think I am."

Cal had enough. "You know what, screw you. You don't understand how it feels to be in my position-"

"Your position? What position may that be? Being the lying brother who looks out for himself? When were you going to tell me, when I'm sick?"

"Forget this." Cal gritted out, about to walk out.

"Don't you dare run away because if you do, that's it. All you ever do is run and I swear, Caleb, if you run... don't bother coming back."

He didn't know why but Cal felt his fist connect with Ethan's cheek.

"You of all people should know that I would never run away from you." he yelled, tears rolling down his cheek.

Lily was already beside Ethan, reaching one hand to push Cal away. "Caleb, take a walk, a drive, I don't care. Just... cool off."

"He'll probably run." Ethan whispered, wiping the blood of his lips.

Cal closed his eyes. "You know what? If you're hurting so much, why don't you just punch me? If it makes you feel better."

"I will not stoop to your level." Ethan mumbled, getting up.

Cal couldn't hold it back as he launched another fist at Ethan's way but found it connecting with Lily's nose as she tumbled over the coffee table.

"Lily!"

"And what is going on here?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I liked that someone knew where the fight reference came from! The Christmas trailer was amazing and felt myself laugh and cry throughout as my heart sped up. Anyway, thanks for the response and here's the next chapter.**

* * *

Ethan helped Lily up as Connie walked in, slamming the door shut behind her.

"What is going on? I can't have members of my staff assaulting other members of staff regardless of what they did. Especially ones who assault female staff."

Lily sighed, accepting the tissue from Cal as she held it to her bleeding nose. "Don't worry, Mrs Beauchamp. I have it under control." she mumbled.

"'Under control'? What is under control, exactly? I just walked in on Caleb punching you square in the nose."

"It was aimed at Ethan, she happened to get in the way." Cal sighed, rubbing his head.

"You," Connie glared at him. "Be quiet." She turned to Ethan who licked the blood of his lips. "And what did you do to receive the attack?"

"I... I apologise, it was provoked." Ethan replied.

Connie shook her head, sighing. "Your personal matters stay at home, am I clear? Go and get that checked out and Lily, I'll sort you out. Caleb, go home."

Cal turned to face Ethan who turned away from him and left the room.

"What about-"

"Your shift? Well, consider yourself lucky. Dr. Keogh and some locums have finally started to appear." Connie replied, leading Lily out.

As Cal walked home, he mentally punched himself for losing his cool. He hadn't meant to start a fight with Ethan, he had tried to leave but Ethan had a way of letting things hit home. They were definitely related.

When he entered their flat, he immediately went to his room and got out a duffel bag, stuffing clothes and essentials in it. He needed a break from Ethan and at the rate that his little brother was talking at, it seemed that he needed a break from him too.

He left a bar of Ethan's favourite chocolate on the kitchen counter and slipped his bag strap over his shoulder, opening the door and exiting the flat.

He took a breath in and walked down the stairs slowly, figuring out a mate of his that he could stay with. One lingered his mind and he found himself walking towards their home.

...

Ethan winced as Rita finished wiping the blood off his cut. "Cal hit you hard there. What were you two arguing about? Looks like you and Lily have been in the wars." she stated.

Ethan waved it off. "We were just tired. Going about on an hour's sleep does that to you."

"Yeah, I was annoyed too when I got a call just as I fell asleep. I mean, who doesn't call for locums?"

"That's what Lily said." Ethan smiled a little, thanking her as she stepped back from him and took her gloves off.

Rita chuckled. "Well, Lily's not too happy to be the patient again. I swear she nearly bit Connie's hand off when she touched her nose."

"Well, that's my fault." Ethan sighed. "She was just looking out for me."

"Glad to see that you're still friends."

"It's Christmas and it's nearly the New Year so... I didn't want to say goodbye to 2015, hating my best friend."

Rita smiled. "I get it. There's a long list of people that I need to be friends with again." she joked. "Seems like yours and Lily's shifts are over. See you later."

Ethan nodded and got off the bed, looking for Lily. He found her prodding her nose with her fingers as Connie spoke gently to her.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"I am. Just hurts a little."

"And she has a concussion," Connie added, making Lily glare at her.

Ethan gasped a little. "How hard did Caleb punch you again?"

Lily waved it off. "I'm fine, really. Wasn't that hard, I just hit my head on the table. I'm fine."

"Well, if you say so. It's the end of our shifts, I'll drive you home."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Lily smiled.

Connie rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Dr. Hardy, give your brother some space, will you? I don't want my most promising doctors coming to work all beaten up."

Ethan smiled lightly. "Okay, thank you."

"Right, I'm off. Enjoy your evenings." Connie smiled, leaving.

"How about you come to mine for dinner. As an apology for getting you hurt."

Lily blushed. "Why not?"

...

Ethan sighed as he spotted the chocolate bar on the counter and picked it up to show Lily.

"He thinks that some chocolate would change things." he mumbled, placing it back on the counter.

Lily cleared her throat. " _'It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important'_ , Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."

"Using one of my favourite authors against me?" Ethan chuckled, picking the bar up again.

Lily smiled. "The fact that Caleb knows that this is your favourite chocolate from when you were a child makes a little difference. It shows that he will always care no matter what. Why don't you ask him about what he found out? Maybe you could both find who you are together. But what do I know? I'm an only child and I've spent my childhood trying to please my biological parents so I have no idea about how you feel right now."

"You know a lot more than you give yourself credit for, Lily. Some would say that in many ways, we're alike. Thank you for being here."

"I will always be there for you."

...

"Cal?"

"Can I stay for a couple of nights?"

Charlie sighed. "You told him?"

Cal nodded. "He didn't take it too well. I ended up hurting Lily in the process."

"That nasty, huh? You even hurt the Ice Princess. No wonder, you're in hiding."

It made Cal smile a little despite his current situation. "So, can I stay?"

"Of course. You can have Louis' old room. Come on in."


	4. Chapter 4

**Back with another chapter! Enjoy x**

* * *

Ethan's thumb hovered over Cal's name on his phone and he sighed, placing the device back on the sofa arm.

Lily came into the room and sat next to him, her eyes trained on his phone.

"It's been a day. Don't you want to talk to him?" she asked, picking up his phone and waving it in his face.

Ethan sighed, looking away from the phone. "I'm not ready yet."

"Ready for what? More confrontation? More hurt? The truth?" Lily asked.

It was almost tempting to Ethan to call his brother up and ask to meet their mother but he found himself doubting his future decisions.

"I'm just not ready to deal with the grief all over again. We've lost four parents... I just need time."

"I heard you say 'we've' in that sentence. So, you're not angry at Caleb for keeping this from you, trying to find a way to break it down to you gently? Or do you feel scared that you might lose him again. Or he might lose you again."

Ethan smiled a little. "Are you trying to confuse me with your philosophies?"

"Just trying to help. Instead of this breaking you, this should make you. Both you and Caleb have gone through a lot. An awful lot."

"So have you but you don't seem to hate anyone at the moment."

Lily shrugged. "I'm done with being angry at the world for my actions or other people's actions. My father's death had two jobs: to make me or to break me. I found myself breaking into pieces ever since I heard that he had died. But on the other hand, it made me because I'm still here, aren't I? I'm not about to jump over a cliff because of daddy issues. Look, what I'm trying to say in a long winded way is that you and your brother have always been there for each other. No matter how many verbal and physical fights that you get in, you'll always have each other."

"Lily Chao, has anyone ever told you that you are a very complicated young woman before?"

Lily smiled. "I think I've heard that once or twice."

"And you speak the truth. But... either way we're both suffering in the bitter end. And as they say: once it starts, it starts. There's no going back and there's no cure." Ethan gulped.

Lily's smile wavered as she looked down at his phone. "Why don't you meet her?" she whispered.

"And say what? 'You ruined our lives'? 'Why did you give us up'? I have a million questions in my mind right now that I can't even sleep because it's in overdrive. And I'm scared to meet the woman who has destined one of our lives to pain."

Lily nodded. "If I was in your shoes, I'd meet her. Then everything slots into place and it makes asking questions easier. A distant cousin of mine went through the same thing you're going through only, he's not sick but his mother is or was. She's dead now. But one thing that he told me was that he didn't regret finding out about her or meeting her because he could see where he got some of his traits and characteristics from. And he also felt a little bit complete in the jigsaw puzzle he had tried fixing throughout his life."

"So I should meet her?"

"Yes. Yes, you should."

...

Cal was surprised when he received his brother's call, asking for him to meet their mother.

He now found himself sitting in the driver's seat of their car and Ethan, beside him, his eyes fixed intently on the small home he vaguely remembered.

"I feel like I should remember but I..."

"Same." Cal replied, looking through the rear view mirror at Lily's sleeping form. "Should we let her stay in the car and sleep?"

"I, uh, I need her support. Don't worry I'll do the honours in waking her up."

That allowed them to share a smile as Ethan gently called Lily's name. She woke and fixed her dress.

"We're here?"

"Yeah." Cal replied.

"I'll stay in the-"

"I want you with me." Ethan said gently.

Lily sighed. "Okay. But, this is about you and Cal and I will not involve myself more than need be."

"It's okay."

Lily nodded and the three got out of the car, heading towards Emilie's carer, Shelle as she just opened the door with bin bags in her hand.

"Steven!" Shelle greeted Cal who blushed.

"Uh, it's Caleb. Or even better, just Cal." he corrected her.

She nodded, a small smiled playing on her lips as her eyes landed on Ethan and Lily who had her hand entwined with his.

"You must be Michael."

"Ethan." Ethan replied, giving her hand a shake.

Shelle smiled even wider. "Well, you are certainly more handsome than your brother." she commented, making him blush. She then turned to Lily with her hand out.

Lily shook it, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "I'm Lily, a friend of theirs."

"You must be a special friend if you're holding his hand that tight. And I'm Shelle, in case you're wondering." Shelle stated with a quick wink. "Come on in, Emilie has just finished her lunch."

She placed the bin bags outside and gestured for them to enter.

"Shelle? Who is it?"

"It's Steven and he's brought Michael!" Shelle called back as they entered the room. Cal and Ethan didn't bother correcting her.

Emilie gasped when she saw Ethan and a nostalgic look overcame her eyes as she took in his features.

"It's really you, Michael." she smiled.

Ethan's voice caught in his throat as he gripped Lily's hand tighter, unsure of what to do.

"Shocked me at first, too." Cal whispered to him.

Shelle pushed Emilie a little closer towards Ethan and he held his breath, his hear beating quickly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. But what Lily had predicted seemed right. There were millions of questions yet to be answered and one stood out from all the rest.

"Why did you give us up?" he finally asked, causing Cal to turn towards him in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Back with another chapter!**

* * *

Emilie sighed, gesturing to the chair. "Please, sit down. Shelle, make our guests tea."

Shelle nodded, patting Emilie's shoulder. "Lily, was it? Why don't you join me?"

Lily reluctantly let go of Ethan's hand and gave him a small smile before following the carer out of the room.

Cal and Ethan took a seat before Emilie and she smiled at them.

"So, you want to know why I had to give you up."

"Yes." Ethan replied.

"I will tell you, don't worry. First, tell me about your life. I noticed that beautiful girl on your arm."

Ethan smiled, unsure of what to do or say but he answered her request. "I'm a doctor, along with Caleb, and we work with Lily. There's nothing going on between us though, we're just best friends."

"Best friends, huh? Heard that one before." Emilie chuckled.

"Well, she wouldn't ever go out with the guy like me."

"Why not?"

"Have you seen her? She looks like something out of a model magazine. And, she's more intelligent than me."

Cal cut in. "What he's trying to say is that she's an A-Lister and he's a Z-Lister. They don't mix."

"I don't see the problem there. Sure, your 'best friend' is a model-like, intelligent woman but that doesn't change how she looks out you. Poor thing was frightened to leave you just this minute."

Ethan had considered Lily's actions towards him in the past. Defending him when Dixie blew up at him because of Olivia, asking him on a date after numerous of study dates and trusting him in her personal matters. But that was what friends did, right?

"We've both been through a lot, she probably was concerned for my mental state." Ethan finally replied, shutting the conversation down.

Emilie nodded as best as she could. "Right, I better tell you why I had to give you up." she said. "Well, I was 27 years old when I gave you boys up. Steven," she turned to Cal. "You were just four years old. Michael, you were 14 months old. When I found out that I was sick, my mother told me to give you boys up. Your biological father had left me months prior and died in a car crash so I was practically raising you up as a single mother. I couldn't stand it, knowing that as you grew up, you'd have to look after me. I didn't want that for you so I made sure that the both of you were adopted together. No matter what, you'll always be together."

"Why didn't you try to find us?" Ethan whispered.

"I did so many times. But, I always choked up. I told Steven this. It's not that I didn't want to. I so wanted to but I was scared that you would hate me. I didn't know what to expect from you boys especially being the bringer of bad news."

Cal took a deep breath in and out. "But _Huntington's_ is a big deal, Emilie. You can't not tell us about that. Look at us, we're scared of the future now. We're scared that if we find that special someone, we're not going to be able to give them children in case one of us has it and will pass it on."

"I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen." Emilie cried. "I know this may sound so rude but I'm hoping none of you have children."

They both shook their heads sadly. "No, we don't. At least that's one good thing." Cal said, his heart breaking at the thought of the little girl whom he thought was his daughter. Now he felt nothing but relief.

"I'm relieved."

"So are we." Ethan replied.

"Would you like some tea?"

Ethan and Cal turned to face each other then their mother.

"Only if you call us by Caleb and Ethan." Cal said.

Emilie smiled and nodded. "Of course, I'm sorry. Probably made you uncomfortable by that, huh?"

"It's okay." Ethan said quietly.

"Okay, let's have some tea."


	6. Chapter 6

**Back with another chapter. A bit on the short side. Merry Christmas!**

* * *

Ethan had shown reluctance to leave his biological mother's home but she had invited them over again. And they were welcome to visit any time they wanted. Cal, on the other hand, was apprehensive as this had been his second visit and his heart still sped up every time he laid eyes on her. It was as if she was taunting him, that either one of her sons would be in her position in the future.

"Oh, and Ethan?" Emilie stopped him before he went out the door.

He smiled at Lily and gestured for her to follow Cal who was already ready to go in the car. She smiled back and nodded, understanding that it was private.

"Yes, Emilie?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Ask that lovely young lady out on a date. You won't regret it."

"What do you mean? We're just friends, I've said-"

"I know but both of you deserve a little Christmas magic."

Ethan's eyebrows furrowed as he was lost for words.

"I've seen enough pain in both of your eyes. You've seem to lose those close to you."

"I-uh..., I guess so... I'll ask her out for dinner. See how it goes from there."

Emilie smiled and reached out to grab his hand.

"One last question."

"Okay..."

"Who did Caleb lose?"

Ethan turned around to see Cal talking animatedly with a tired Lily and smiled sadly.

"He lost himself..." he mumbled.

"I didn't quite catch that." Emilie said, her grip tightening a little.

Ethan sighed and faced her. "He's lost a lot of people. He nearly lost me. So, I guess he lost himself along the way."

"How did he nearly lose you?"

"Last year, Lily and I were in a car crash. I nearly died and I guess my heart stopped for a minute. I still don't remember much but I will never forget the day I heard Cal cry."

"Must have been hard for you."

Ethan swallowed the heavy lump in his throat as he nodded. "It was. For the three of us and our colleagues who were involved. We lost someone that day. A good friend with a lot of life inside him."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's in the past and we have to move on, don't we? Anyway, I've really got to go now. Beat the traffic."

"Of course. Do visit any time, please."

Ethan smiled gently. "I'll try to."

He didn't want to make promises, he was still hurting. But maybe this was a turnover.

He hesitantly placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and left, getting into the passenger seat and returning the smiles both Cal and Lily gave him.

"What did she want?" Cal asked, curiously.

"To help me find my way, I guess." Ethan replied as Cal started the car.

"In what way?" Lily asked him.

Ethan turned to smile at her. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

"I would love to." Lily smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been too long! I'm sorry, I deleted the folder for this story by accident but I managed to retrieved it after saving it backup somewhere else. So, we're back in motion. Enjoy ;)**

* * *

"I'm going to head to the ED, pick up another shift." Cal announced as he dropped off Ethan and Lily at home.

"Why?"

"Leave you guys to have some alone time," he smirked. "And to clear my head. I just need space."

Ethan shrugged lightly. "Okay... I'm sure Mrs Beauchamp would appreciate the extra help."

"Yeah, see you when I'm back." Cal replied, speeding off.

"Shall we go in?" Ethan asked Lily who seemed engrossed on her phone.

She nodded, her eyes still fixated on her phone. "Yeah. Just texting my mum about something." she stated, following him inside.

"Is she okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. She's in China at the moment so... She's fine, thanks for asking."

Ethan smiled. "No problem. Tea?"

"Please." Lily smiled back, putting her phone away. "So, are you cooking or are you going to order something in?"

"I'll just order something in. Can't be bothered to cook since it's late."

"Only 7 PM, I could help. My family owns a restaurant remember?"

Ethan contemplated the idea. "What can you do with noodles?" he asked, taking a packet of unmade noodles out of the cupboard.

Lily stood up, taking the packet out of his hands and reading the nutritional values. "Oh, everything Ethan Hardy." she replied, smiling.

...

"Did you really set fire to Caleb's ex-girlfriend's hair?" Lily asked, sipping on her wine.

Ethan blushed, nodding. "I was sixteen and her and Cal were going on a date. But our pet cat had somehow stuck chewing gum in her hair when it was 'getting to know her'."

"Don't tell me, it peed on her hair too?" Lily laughed.

Ethan nodded. "Gum and feline excretion in her hair. Now, Caleb wasn't home as he had forgotten to buy her flowers and chocolates so Fiona - Cal's ex-girlfriend - begged me to help her do her hair. She had it washed and asked me if I could straighten it using my mother's-" he stopped himself short.

"Ethan, it's okay. Matilda was your mother for all those years. It should feel natural to still call her that."

"But it hurts ten times worse now." Ethan whispered, wiping his eyes. "Sorry, I'm crying on our date."

"Our date?"

"Oh, I didn't mean... Well, it doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to be. I was just-"

Lily cut him off. "It's okay. This is exactly what it is. A date." she stated happily. "Now, I'm dying to hear what happened to Caleb's ex-girlfriend's hair."

Ethan blushed, smiling at her again. "So I used her hair straightener to straighten her hair but there was still some chewing gum stuck in it and I ended up burning it, setting it on fire. Caleb came in and the smoke alarm went off and Fiona was just screaming. She dumped him there and then and told me to stay away from her and that I was a 'murdering idiot'. Cal ended up laughing, telling me that he wanted to dump her anyway, that's why he had to get the chocolates and flowers to let her down gently."

"So, you played a good part in ruining your brother's love life?"

"Yes, pretty much. Although after that incident, all the girlfriends I had suddenly dumped me and went out with Caleb instead."

Lily laughed. "I bet!" she replied. "So, are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, I am. Thanks for asking. How about you? Any embarrassing stories you have to share?"

Lily blushed, biting her lip as she thought of one. "I nearly poisoned my aunt when I was five."

"How did you do that?" Ethan asked shocked as he refilled their glasses.

"Well, my parents had just opened their restaurant and we had this family only reservation in place. I saw my mother cooking and she laid out dishes for her sisters and I remember wanting to be just like her so I grabbed a container of what I thought was salt but it turned out to be rat poison which my father had bought that day. So, when my mum took it out to serve, my aunt realised that it looked weird and she asked me if I helped my mother and I nodded, shoving the rat poison in her face. Since then, I wasn't allowed to cook unsupervised."

Both of them were laughing by the end of Lily's story and Lily guessed that she did have at least one good memory with her parents.

"So when did you realise that you wanted to be a doctor?"

Lily looked up, shocked. "I... I guess I never realised I wanted to be a doctor. I've loved dancing since I was little but I had to be rational in my future plans. So, I guess I was 13 when I wanted to go into Medicine. Plus, the sight of blood never got to me. And I do like helping and saving people's lives."

"I've always wanted to be one. The thought of not being able to do that any more scares me."

"Hey, whatever happens, I'm here." Lily said gently, placing her hands on his.


End file.
